Body working tool

ABSTRACT

A BODY WORKING TOOL FOR REPAIRING DENTS IN VEHICULAR BODIES. THE TOOL INCLUDES AN ELONGATED BODY PORTION HAVING ONE END ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO THE VEHICLE IN THE AREA TO BE REPAIRED AND HAVING GRIPPING MEANS ON ITS OPPOSED END. STOP MEMBERS ARE CARRIED ADJACENT TWO OPPOSED ENDS OF THE BODY MEMBER AND A WEIGHTED IMPACT MEMBER IS SLIDINGLY RECEIVED ON THE BODY ITSELF AND ADAPTED TO BE SLID ALONG THE BODY INTO AND OUT OF CONTACT WITH THE RESPECTIVE STOP MEMBERS. THE FORCE OF HE IMPACT MEMBER STRIKING THE STOP MEMBERS WILL EITHER DEPRESS THE AREA OF THE VEHICLE BODY TO WHICH THE TOOL IS ATTACHED OR PULL IT OUTWARDLY DEPENDING UPON THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF THE IMPACT MEMBER.

March 16, 1971 L, SMYERS 3,570,289

BODY WORKING TOOL Filed Jan. 23, 1969 INVENTOR. STEVEN L. SMYERS BY j/wnau. v

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,570,289 BODY WORKING TOOL Steven L.Smyers, 1670 Faye Road, Akron, Ohio 44306 Filed Jan. 23, 1969, Ser. No.793,394 Int. Cl. B21j 13/02 US. Cl. 72-479 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A body working tool for repairing dents in vehicular bodies.The tool includes an elongated body portion having one end adapted to besecured to the vehicle in the area to be repaired and having grippingmeans on its opposed end. Stop members are carried adjacent two opposedends of the body member and a weighted impact member is slidinglyreceived on the body itself and adapted to be slid along the body intoand out of contact with the respective stop members. The force of theimpact member striking the stop members will either depress the area ofthe vehicle body to which the tool is attached or pull it outwardlydepending upon the direction of movement of the impact member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention generally relates to toolswhich are used for repairing the bodies of vehicles such as automobilesand trucks and primarily relates to the practice of removing dents froma damaged surface so as to return the vehicle body to its originalsmooth condition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The following prior art is known toapplicant: Trachsel, US. Pat. 2,256,130; Johnson et al., US. Pat.2,597,103; Zinke, US. Pat. 2,620,011; Zinke, US, Pat. 2,718,25 3; andMarquardt, US. Pat. 3,088,513.

The operation of these prior art references differs considerably fromapplicants device. Thus, Trachsel shows a plier or gripping-type ofarrangement while Johnson utilizes a threaded member to apply pressureto the damaged area. Both of the patents to Zinke show jack-type dentremoving elements and Marquardt utilizes a wrench and a screwarrangement to deform the body.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It has been discovered that a new, improved andeconomical yet effective body repair tool can be provided by utilizationof the simple impact means described herein.

It has been further discovered that by providing an elongated body oneend of which can be attached to the vehicle body in the damaged area andthe other end of which carries a gripping member, that the tool caneasily be attached to the area to be repaired.

It has also been discovered that by providing stop members on theopposed ends of the tool and further providing a slidable weightedmember which can be driven into contact with either of the stop membersthat the force of the impact will deform the area being repaired eitherby driving the localized area, to which the tool is attached, inwardlyor pulling it outwardly depending upon the direction in which theweighted member is moved.

Accordingly, production of an improved body working tool of thecharacter described becomes the principal object of this invention withother objects thereof becoming more apparent upon a reading of thefollowing brief specification, considered and interpreted in view of theaccompanying drawings.

Of the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the tool shown in conjunction with aconventional fender of an automobile.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on the lines 22 of FIG. 1 and showingthe tool attached to the area being repaired.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view showing modified means for attachingthe tool to the area being repaired.

Turning first then to FIG. 1, it will be noted that the tool itself,generally indicated by the numeral 10, includes an elongated body member11, stop member 12 and gripping member 15.

Considering next then the inboard end 11a of the tool in greater detailand referring particularly to FIG. 2, it will be seen that this end 11aof body 11 has a threaded area 11b thereon. Threadingly secured to end11a is stop and closure member 12 which, in turn, has an undercut area12a and a through opening 13 for purposes which will be described ingreater detail below.

Received within the undercut area 12a of stop and closure member 12 isthe head of a metal screw 14 with the body of this screw projectingthrough aperture 13 of member 12 for attachment to the fender F of thevehicle as will subsequently be described in greater detail.

Turning next then to the outboard end 1112 of the tool body 11 it willbe noted that a handle 15 is secured thereto with this handle being ofany desired material such as rubber or plastic and either bonded by someadhesive to the tool body 11 or press fit over the end relying upon itsnatural resiliency to secure it in place. Handle 15 also has an enlargedend 15a which serves as a stop member with regard to impact member 20 aswill be described more fully below. Handle 15 also carries a protectivemember 16 which, in the form of the invention shown, consists of a ring1611 and a pair of opposed radially extending spokes 16b, 16b. It shouldbe understood here that the spokes 16b could be of any desired shape andmember 16 could also be of any number, e.g., four, six etc. This memberis adapted to he slipped over handle 15 as is clearly shown in thedrawings and serves to protect the hand of the user from contact withimpact member 20.

Turning next then to the impact member 20, it will be noted that thesame is carried on the tool 11 and has a through central aperture 20awhich enables the same to be slid along the body in the direction ofarrow 30 either toward or away from the vehicle. Impact member 20 is aweighted member with the particular weight involved being a matter ofchoice. This member also has an undercut area 21 with the internaldiameter thereof being slightly greater than the external diameter ofthe stop and closure member 12 for purposes which will be describedbelow.

In use or operation of the improved body working tool, it will be firstassumed that the damaged area D of the fender F has a small hole drilledtherein. Screw 14 can be inserted through this hole and tightened intoplace by screwing the stop and closure member 12 down against the fenderF as is clearly shown in FIG. 2. By virtue of the fact that the head ofthe screw 14 is carried in the undercut area 12a of member 12, it isbelieved that a tight fit can be obtained in this fashion since the end11a of the body 11 will be forced against the head of the screw therebyinsuring that the tool is firmly secured to the vehicle body.

The user will then grasp the handle 15 and, assuming that the area to berepaired has a generally concave structure such as shown in FIG. 2, theimpact member 20 will be vigorously slid along body 11 until it contactsstop member 15a of handle 15. The force of this impact will have atendency to pull the damaged area of the fender F outwardly or to theleft of FIG. 2, for example, and the operation can be repeated untilsuch time as the damaged area has been brought into co-planarrelationship with the remainder of the fender. It is then merelynecessary to unscrew member 12 and screw 14, fill the hole that had beendrilled into the fender and refinish the fender in conventional fashion.

In an instance in which the damaged area is bulged outwardly or has agenerally convex configuration with regard to the surrounding area ofthe vehicle body, it will be merely necessary to slide impact member 20to the right of FIG. 2 for example and again the force of the impactstriking the body will tend to deform the damaged area to bring it intoco-planar relationship with the surrounding area of the vehicle body. Inthis regard, the undercut area 21 on impact member 20 permits the impactmember to clear the stop and closure member 12 to obtain the desiredresults.

In this instance as well, once the damaged area has been returned toco-planar relationship with regard to the surrounding area of thevehicle body, it is merely necessary to disengage closure member 12 andscrew 14, fill the hole which has been drilled in the fender F andrefinish the surface.

FIG. 3 illustrates a possible modification of the means for attachingthe tool to the vehicle and has particular utility where the user Wishesto avoid drilling a hole in the vehicle. In this form of the inventionend 11:: of tool body 11 is provided with threads 11b as in FIGS. 1 and2. Instead of screw 14, however, suction cup attachment means 40 areprovided. These means include nut 42 and suction cup 41 which is moldedor bonded to nut 42. Nut 42 is internally threaded and can be secured totool body 11 With cup 41 being secured to the vehicle.

Alternatively, cup 41 can be glued to the vehicle body or the attachmentmeans can be dispensed with and the end 11a of the tool body could besoldered to the vehicle.

It should be noted that while the preferred form of the inventionillustrated discloses a cylindrical body 11 and a complemental throughaperture in the impact member 20 that if desired, the body 11 could besquare in cross section, for example, while still embodying theprinciples of the invention.

Similarly and while the impact member has been described as being aWeighted member, no specific weight has been recited since this would bea matter of choice which is dictated by the overall size of the tool inquestion.

Also, no specific material has been described with regard to the handleand the same can be of rubber, plastic or any suitable material whichwill enable the user to securely hold the tool during operation.

There has been disclosed therefore, a greatly simplified and economicalbody working tool which can be readily transported from place to placeby the user and can be quickly and easily attached to and detached fromthe vehicle body.

It should also be noted here that while the invention has generally beendescribed with relation to repairing the body of a vehicle such as anautomobile or a truck that the tool has utility in removing dents orbulges from any planar surface and the invention is not intended to belimited to automotive uses although, for purposes of illustration,automotive use has been described.

While a full and complete description of the invention has been setforth in accordance with the dictates of the patent statutes, it is tobe understood that modifications can be resorted to without departingfrom the spirit hereof or the scope of the appended claims,

What I claim is:

1. A tool for repairing metal surfaces comprising:

(A) an elongate, one piece body having.

(1) a first end and (2) a second, threaded end; (B) a first stop andclosure member having (1) an internally threaded undercut area adaptedto engage said second end of said body and 2) a through aperture in itsbase; (C) a threaded extension having l) a head and (2) an elongatethreaded shank (3) with said head being disposed between and infrictional contact with said second end of said body and the bottom ofsaid undercut area of said first stop and closure member When saidmember is engaged with said body and with said shank projecting throughsaid aperture in said stop and closure member;

(D) a handle secured to said first end of said body and having anintegral radially enlarged second stop member on one end thereof;

(E) a protective member telescoped on said handle and resting againstsaid second stop member; and (F) annular impact means slidably carriedon said body between said first stop and closure member and said secondstop member and being movable into and out of contact with said members;said impact means having an undercut portion of a dimension slightlygreater than said stop and closive member.

2. A tool for repairing metal surfaces, comprising:

(A) an elongate body having (1) a first end and (2) a second threadedend;

(B) attachment means releasably attached to said second end of said bodyand including (1) a threaded nut and 2) a suction cup secured thereto;

(C) a handle secured to said first end of said body and having anintegral radially enlarged stop member on one end thereof; and

(D) impact means carried on said body between said nut and said stopmember and being movable into and out of contact with said stop memberand said nut; said impact means having an undercut portion of adimension slightly greater than said threaded nut and;

(E) a protective member telescoped on said handle and resting againstsaid stop member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,662,538 3/1928 Richmond 173-913,113,478 12/1963 Hall 72-705X 3,030,837 4/1962 Chartier 72-705X2,934,984 5/1960 Woodman 72-705X 3,381,763 5/1968 Matson 173-912,941,429 6/1960 Mason 72-705X 2,791,926 5/1957 Guyton 173-91X CHARLESW. LANHAM, Primary Examiner A. L. HAVIS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X3.72-705; 173-91

